This branch of the Austrian Hesch family is descended from Johann Hesch and his wife Marya (Schlinz) Hesch, who came to America from Oberschlagles, Bohemia with three sons: Paul, Mathias, and Anton. +++Johann & Marya settled in Buffalo County, Wisconsin but moved to Pierz, Mn in about 1885. .+++Mathias settled in Waumandee, Wisconsin and moved to Pierz in 1911. +++Anton never married but farmed with his dad in Agram Township, where he died in 1911.+++And Paul, my great grandfather, settled five miles away, in Buckman, Minnesota. He died there in 1900.

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Saturday, April 4, 2015

I'm finding more and more that most families have at least one "background" kid--not necessarily a black sheep, but who maybe moved away, or didn't always have time to attend family stuff, or one who just grew away from the family set of values. Who knows?
I think grandma Lizzy's sister Vernie (Veronica) was in this position in the Mike Sand family (but not the only one). At least in my experience, Vernie wasn't mentioned much, and was never there when the Sand nuns came home, for instance. It's possible that her life away from Buckman was a lot better than life on the farm. Certainly, this photo looks like she was content. We know from her mom's obit that Louisa spent her last days at Vernie's in St Cloud, and died there.
Maybe it's just that Lizzy and Vernie weren't close, huh?

These photos are from Jenny, too...and the one to the left is labeled "Henry Block and John Wintermeyer". It looks like the same yard as above, with peonies in bloom. Henry, of course, was Lena's husband, so those two couples connected, at least. (I think this ◄John was the Wintermeyer's son John J. born in 1905. His sibs were Joseph, born in 1908, and Marie, born in 1920).

Aa a reward for making it this far, here's a mystery to ponder:

Jenny said this photo is marked "Grandma and Grandpa Sand", but it's not Mike and Louisa. They never reached this age or this portliness, tho Mike always had a longer, fuller beard than this gentleman. We're curious about who they actually were--maybe Block grandparents, or Hoheisel, or Wintermeyer?